In our view, London is probably the most cosmopolitan city in the Western world and certainly in the English-speaking world.
It is a great city with many layers, and the most difficult to write about!
We can write a much, much larger guide!
Deciding what to include has given us grey hair …
Theatre and musical, bridges and canals, museums and galleries … these are the things that come to mind.
What about London’s wonderful bookshops? Rare books, Charing Cross Road, Foyles 107, and perfume for the booklover?
Or going to a concert at the Albert Hall: A box seat at the Albert Hall and a note on Albert Einstein
Or – be inspired by Going to the opera – Der Rosenkavalier
The great River Thames, St Paul’s Cathedral, Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, Regent’s Canal, Covent Garden, Hampstead Heath … histories and intrigues around Keats, Dickens, Marx … some of the world’s most distinctive bookshops … and the world’s best art exhibits and performances. And what about Dancing with Marco Polo’s spirit in Covent Garden, at the world’s best map shop with its map floor?
One of the most intriguing but useful things to note is that the “West End” is actually now geographically speaking, central London and not the western side of the city. The West End with post-code W1 or WC1 was named many years ago when the “City” was the centre of London. Indeed: The Tube – and the circle line is no longer circular!
